Saskatoon woman sentenced to 18 years after pleading guilty to fatally stabbing former boyfriend

Dan Zakreski · CBC News

· Posted: May 30, 2025 5:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

A packed Saskatoon courtroom heard however Adam Willett's final act of kindness to his ex-girlfriend Ryah Sorenson outgo him his life.

"She came to enactment 1 nighttime — and it was his past nighttime alive," authoritative Michael Pilon said astatine Court of King's Bench Friday. Sorenson pleaded blameworthy to manslaughter earlier Justice Richard Danyliuk.

Pilon work from an agreed connection of facts that the brace had started dating successful February 2022 erstwhile Sorenson was 20 and Willett was 37, and that they broke up that November.

• Accused successful Saskatoon's 11th homicide of 2022 appears successful provincial court

Pilon said Sorenson showed up astatine the flat connected the greeting of Dec. 2, 2022, and Willett agreed to fto her enactment that one night. By her ain account, she began drinking "large amounts of whisky" and past began arguing with Willett.

Just aft 7 p.m. CST, she attacked Willett in his chamber and stabbed him 21 times. He near a blood way done the apartment, yet collapsing connected the sofa wherever helium died. Sorenson then kissed his forehead and lips, covered him with a broad and went into the hallway with a jar of pills from the java array to termination herself, Pilon said.

The pills were vitamins, though, and she ended up vomiting and calling 911, helium said.

"It's not good. I'm sick," she told the operator.

"I cognize I did truthful bad."

She told officers who arrived, "Not fair, not right, I conscionable person a batch of anger."

'Adam's dead'

Pilon and defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle made a associated submission for 18 years, which Danyliuk accepted aft proceeding 13 unfortunate interaction statements from Willett's contiguous and extended family.

"Two words are ingrained successful my mind," his father Bryan said. "Adam's dead. Hysterically repeated connected the telephone by Adam's mother."

Family spoke of his emotion of euphony and accomplishment astatine playing guitar and saxophone. Bryan spoke astir however Feb. 3, 1959 is called "the time the euphony died," due to the fact that that's erstwhile Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens perished successful a level crash.

"After Dec. 2, 2022, that's the time the euphony died," Bryan said.

Willett's nine-year-daughter from an earlier matrimony wrote, "my Dad was taken distant from maine and that makes maine sad."

"I interest I'll hide each my memories of him arsenic I turn up."

Various household spoke straight to Sorenson, who sat with her caput down successful the prisoner's box. Their comments echoed duplicate themes of however it's excessively aboriginal to see forgiving her, and that she took distant each of Willett's aboriginal chances.

Troubled past

Both Pilon and Pfefferle spoke of Sorenson's hard childhood, marked by substance abuse, aforesaid harm, home unit and household dysfunction. Although she was charged with second-degree murder, the lawyers settled connected manslaughter due to the fact that of her intelligence wellness conditions and the substance maltreatment impairment that day.

Pilon said that she has a past of aforesaid harm and addictions to cocaine and alcohol. A psychiatric study described her arsenic "naive, child-like and precise timid."

In accepting the sentencing recommendation, Danyliuk said "today determination are nary winners."

"There is lone loss."

With recognition for clip served, Sorenson's remaining condemnation is 15 years.